today the president will address the fiscal deadline facing america. and congress says if they do not reach an agreement by january 1 on spending, the u.s. could fall into a recession. tara mergener has more. >> reporter: today, president obama will urge lawmakers to work with him to steer the country away from the fiscal cliff. the cliff is a series of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that will kick in at the end of the year, unless republicans and democrats can reach a deal. both sides say they are willing to work together. >> we're not going over the cliff. we're determined not to go over the cliff. i think better heads will prevail. >> reporter: a fight over taxes is already looming. democratics want families making more than $250,000 a year to pay more. republicans reject that idea. they want cuts to entitlement programs and are pushing tax reform that closes loopholes and eliminates some deductions. >> this is an opportunity for the president to lead. this is his moment. to engage the congress and work towards a solution ha can pass both cha